Before he became Mr. Hockey, in the formative seasons of his prime and before he became a worldwide legend in the annals of professional sports for his talent, longevity, success and grace, Gordie Howe wore this sweater.

Howe wore this stunning red wool Detroit Red Wings sweater during the early 1950s, in either 1950-51 or 1951-52. He won Art Ross Trophies as the National Hockey League’s leading scorer in both seasons. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player in 1951-52, when the Red Wings won their second Stanley Cup in three seasons.

Howe dominated the NHL in 1950-51 and 1951-52, playing every game in both spectacular campaigns.

The sweater features the iconic Winged Wheel crest. Gordie first wore a visually different Winged Wheel crest from 1946-50, then began wearing this exact style of crest in 1950-51, which added length to the wing and definition to the Winged Wheel. The sweater's features include white stripes without sleeve numbers, which were added in 1956.

Until Wayne Gretzky, the Brantford, Ont., prodigy who idolized him as a youth, broke his records, Howe led all NHL scorers with 801 goals and 1,049 assists in an NHL-record 1,767 games. Howe notched 786 of his goals and 1,023 of his assists as a Red Wing, for whom he played all but one of his 26 NHL seasons.

Howe was a Red Wing from 1946-47 through 1970-71. He retired, returned to play six seasons in the World Hockey Association, and then returned to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers for the 1979-80 NHL season. It’s the only NHL season he and Gretzky shared. One icon passed the torch to the next.

Provenance

This sweater was purchased by MeiGray in June 2017. As warranted to us by the Windsor, Ont., seller, this sweater was given to the seller's father in the mid 1950s by then Red Wings Coach Jimmy Skinner. The father worked behind the meat counter at N & D Supermarkets in Windsor. The father was a Red Wings fan, and Gordie Howe was his favorite player. Skinner frequented the supermarket and was friends with the store owner. According to his heirs, the sweater was in the father's possession from the mid 1950s until his passing in 2016. The family sold the sweater directly to MeiGray.